Maduro Vows To Double Oil Production With Help From OPEC

AFP reports that during his inauguration speech, Maduro said he will seek the help of OPEC to double Venezuela’s oil production, which is currently at 70-year lows and much below its production quota under the OPEC cut agreement. Maduro said the current production rate—about 1.5 million bpd—would need to increase by 1 million barrels daily by the end of this year. Further in his speech, Maduro said that Venezuela will defeat the U.S. sanctions and its economy will reverse its course to a more positive one, admitting, however, that it will be a tough job because of the sanctions and the ruinous state of its oil industry. “I cannot deceive anyone, they are going to create serious difficulties for us, painful difficulties, that we will face gradually — we will defeat them. Trump’s sanctions will be nullified and defeated,” Maduro said. The most vital industry information will soon be […]